The present invention is directed toward compositions having unique and amusing or educational properties, and methods of making them.
There continues to be a need for compositions in the market that offer the consumer educational or amusing qualities in a composition that is safe and convenient to handle.
One of the educational or amusing qualities in such substances is an unusual texture or viscosity associated with colloidal or colloid-like substances. Substances of this type are particularly amusing for children and adults alike because such textures and consistencies are not commonly encountered whereas most substances are dimensionally stable solids, or liquids.
Further, it is also desirable to produce an educational or amusement substance that can be produced from the mixture of two or more compositions that are of a noticeably different physical character, such as a light or vicous liquid, than that of the final product. This offers the user an additional educational or amusing experience in terms of allowing the user to experience the reaction and transformation of two or more materials to a final material of a completely and unexpectedly different nature.
Another beneficial educational or amusing characteristic of this type is to have the constituent material once mixed also bring about a color change in the final material which is different than the color of either of the constituent materials. The color change adds to the overall educational or amusing experience in the use of these materials as the final material changes in both texture and color.
Another concern in the use of these educational or amusing materials is that the user be able to determine when the reaction between the constituent materials has proceeded to near completion such that the final product may be handled safely without remaining unreacted low viscosity reactant materials escaping from the mixture, such as by escaping the the grasp of the user if the user attempts to handle the product before the reaction of the constituent materials has proceeded to completion.
One of the concerns in the production of these constituent materials is that color-bearing constituent materials that are of low viscosity may escape from the unreacted components prior to complete formation of the final craft product. Accordingly, it is also advantageous to have constituents that provide a visual indication that the formation reaction has proceeded to completion.
The present invention overcomes many of the disadvantages of prior art.
In broadest terms, the present invention includes a craft composition and a craft composition kit, the composition comprising: a first component in a first container and comprising a first solution of polyvinyl acetate and polyvinyl alcohol and a first colorant, a second component in a second container and comprising a second solution of a tetraborate composition and a second colorant, the first and second components being adapted to present an appearance of striated colors upon initial admixture, which appearance transforms to a uniform single color resulting from the uniform mixture of the first and second colorants. The invention also includes a method of preparing a craft composition.
It is preferred that the polyvinyl acetate and polyvinyl alcohol solution be present in an amount equivalent to mixing white school glue with water, in the range of from about 30% to about 60% by weight.
In the second component, it is preferred that the tetraborate composition comprises sodium tetraborate decahydrate. It is also preferred that the tetraborate composition comprises a tetraborate present in an amount in the range of 2% to 10% by weight and preferably 4% by weight.
Optionally, the craft composition kit may further comprise an effective amount of any one of the following: (a) at least one biocide; (b) at least one thickener; (c) at least one fragrance; and/or (d) at least one additional colorant in addition to those required (which may be part of the individual components, or separately packaged and supplied to the mixture after mixing).
In general, the method for preparing a craft composition of the present invention comprises the steps of:
(a) providing
(1) a first component in a first container and comprising a first solution of polyvinyl acetate and polyvinyl alcohol and a first colorant, and
(2) a second component in a second container and comprising a second solution of a tetraborate composition and a second colorant (different in color from the first colorant),
the first and second components being adapted to present an appearance of striated colors upon initial admixture, which appearance transforms to a uniform single color resulting from the uniform mixture of the first and second colorants;
(b) admixing the first and second component so as to form a mixture to present an appearance of striated colors upon initial admixture; and
(c) allowing the mixture to further homogenize so as to transform the mixture to a uniform single color resulting from the uniform mixture of the first and second colorants.
Preferably, the method of the present invention further includes further mixing the mixture during step (c) so as to expedite the homogenization during step (c).
It is preferred that the craft composition of the present invention additionally comprises at least one biocide. Although a functional amount of biocide should be used in the present invention, it is preferred that the biocide(s) constitute(s) from about 0.05 to about 0.15 weight percent of the completed craft composition. It is most preferred that the at least one biocide is ACTICIDE LA sold by Actichem.
Craft compositions of the present invention may additionally comprise at least one thickener or stabilizer, such as Texipol 63-508 (Scott Bader) to retard settling of resin solids, typically present in an amount of about 1.5-2.0 weight percent of the first component.
In addition to the novel features and advantages mentioned above, other objects and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiment(s).